New effort under way for St. Joseph smoking ban

A St. Joseph group seeking to ban smoking in most public places is trying a new tactic to put the issue before voters.
The St. Joseph News-Press reports ( http://bit.ly/19LXdRL) members of Smoke-Free St. Joseph are gathering signatures from registered voters on a petition. They'll need nearly 2,200 certified signatures to get their proposal on a future ballot.
Smoke-Free St. Joseph began drafting the proposed ordinance after the City Council voted in May to drop all considerations of a smoking ban.
The group's proposal would ban smoking in all indoor public places except for 10 percent of hotel rooms and private clubs when no employees are present.
It also would allow smoking on the gambling floor of the St. Jo Frontier Casino until casinos in Jackson, Platte or Clay counties go smoke-free.